Conflicting Sources - What to trust?

[AngelaR]

Online trees CAN be useful if they include someone you've never encountered before but only as a possible indicator for doing your own research. I find it is a useful starting place to assume that all on-line trees are wrong unless proved otherwise May be a wee bit cynical but avoids an awful lot of wasted time and effort....

[RJ_Paton]

I’d say that just because it is published - and that includes old and on paper, as well as online - doesn't mean either is correct.

I think it is advised that you do your own research, dig out the original records (baptisms, marriages, deaths, wills etc etc) where they survive, and draw up your own tree.

I would agree wholeheartedly. There is nothing wrong with taking this information as a starting point and trying through original documantation to prove or disprove its accuracy . "Close Enough" should not be an acceptable mantra.

Old contemporary family trees can still be incorrect and even embellished to make people appear more grand than they were.

There are a lot of fakes out there either set to decieve ( https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Fraudulent_Genealogies), Gilding the truth a shade or simply just badly researched (e.g. many trees on Ancestry and other platforms)

[Guy Etchells]

Never trust any trees even those drawn up by Heralds.
Don’t trust any single record but build evidence from as many separate sources as possible, preferably for the same time period as the event, always keep your eyes open for ancillary sources that will add weight to your assumptions (for example baptisms of children born after a marriage may add weight to the marriage being correct).
Be alert to common names in an area, if this occurs more evidence may have to be collected before an assumption can be verified.
Keep re-evaluating your research as more records become available to view, they may include something that reinforces your assumptions or casts doubt on our assumptions.
A lineage is never finished it is always a work in progress.
Cheers
Guy

[Rosinish]

I think I will start again from scratch, as you say find as many other original sources as I can. What a disappointment! 

I've never been disappointed when finding info. previously unknown to me to be wrong.

I take nothing as fact until I've proven it myself & I've never expected to find anyone in high society, in fact, I'd be very surprised given my ancestors' lives so far 

My only concern is when trees have the wrong info. on my ancestors which I've got paper trails for & there's been a few...all copied & not researched.

I've come across wrong maiden names (one very recently) which will throw those 2 peoples' research in the wrong direction, possibly why that's where it stops?


Annie